Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the government is backing small and medium businesses to encourage employment, including in my electorate of Bonner? Is the Prime Minister aware of any threats to the government's approach?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The honourable member is committed to supporting family businesses in his electorate and indeed around Australia, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, who has declared war on small and medium family-owned businesses right around Australia, whether they're in Launceston, whether they're in Burnie or whether they're in Brisbane. Tens of thousands of family-owned businesses today know that the Leader of the Opposition and all of his Labor team are now coming after them to raise more tax, and that's going to mean fewer jobs. The Leader of the Opposition says he's against the top end of town and he wants to take on the banks and all those millionaires. One small business after another will have their viability threatened and the jobs of their employees threatened by Labor seeking to jack up the taxes they are paying.

We've had so many good cases of enterprising Australian businesses. Let me share with you one business: Evolve Skateboards, founded by Jason Howard and by Jeff Anning and his wife, Fleur Anning. It's only a small business. It's got 15 staff. It's on the Gold Coast. What they are doing, like all of these small businesses, is financing the growth of their business through retained earnings. That's how these small and medium family businesses grow, like Universal Trusses, which I visited this morning here in the ACT with Senator Seselja. It is an older business, 20 years old, but it's the same story. If you provide encouragement for these businesses, they will grow and they will employ.

Labor has now declared war on them in this extraordinary captain's call. Where were all the economic shadow ministers out defending the Leader of the Opposition? They were missing in action. The member for McMahon likes to talk about making announcements in this space or that space. He was in hyperspace this morning. He'd vanished into outer space.

Mr Porter interjecting—

He was between spaces, as the Attorney-General says. The best commentary on this, of course, came from the member for Bass. He was asked today if he would defend it. Brian Carlton said:

Do you back your leader Bill Shorten's call to repeal the tax cut for companies of a turnover of between $10 and $50 million?

The response was:

Well, that's a matter that has been announced by Mr Shorten.

He goes on:

He's the leader of the party … There have been a lot of observations about the fact that this has been, as you say, a captain's call … That's a matter for Bill Shorten

(Time expired)